The amount of power needed while cruising depends on many factors including the energy used by appliances and lighting, the output of the engine alternator, the climate and the length of time away from shore power. These and other factors will determine the amount of solar power and thus size of the solar panel(s) you may need. Working with Ed Foster of foster-wills.com, we have developed a worksheet to assist you in inventorying your on board power generation and consumption and estimating you solar power requirement. Print out our Solar Power Calculation Worksheet and use it as a guide to figuring out your power generation requirement. From this you can get an idea of what your solar panel options might be. Hope it helps!

We are often asked about the impact of wind resistance on solar panels mounted on a pole when the boat is under sail or when it is blowing a “hooley” out there in heavy seas. This is a valid concern. Anytime you put something in the way of the wind on a boat there are bound to be consequences.

It is important to note that none of our customers to date have reported a problem with wind resistance nor have we had a problem on our test boats.

Fortunately, an adjustable pole mounted solar panel offers numerous options to address wind resistance. Some of our customers have reported that they tilt their panel to a horizontal position in a blow to minimize wind resistance. Other customers have replaced the single nut and bolt that attaches the panel to the pole with a locking pin or lynch pin. In a blow, they simply pull the pin, unplug the panel and stow it down below. Other customers just leave the panel alone and don’t worry about it.

The panel is usually tilted at a 30 to 45 degree angle to achieve optimum sun angle. This alone reduces wind resistance by over 50% relative to a panel in a vertical position perpendicular to the wind (not sure why a panel would ever be in a vertical position however). Also, it is important to consider that the boat is moving smoothly with the waves thus enabling a relatively even airflow over the panel. In addition, the panel can be rotated so achieve some potentially beneficial results. With the top of the panel tilted into the wind, the unit will tend to put a downward force on the stern. With the panel bottom into the wind, it will tend to put a lifting force on the stern.

What is the weak point in the system in a heavy wind? Looking at the system as a unit, it is apparent that the pole, the tilt mechanism and the braces attaching the panel to the tilt mechanism are plenty strong. The brackets attaching the pole to the stern rail are plenty strong. Our tests have proven this to be a fact. The only remaining point of potential failure then is the stern rails. We have seen boats with very strong well anchored stern rails and boats with rather dubious stern rail anchoring systems. Each boat owner must assess the strength of the stern rails and determine their ability to support the stresses of a pole mounted solar system. It could be that lateral braces connecting the pole to the deck or to the bimini frame are necessary.

The size of the panel is directly proportional to the amount of potential wind resistance. We recommend mounting a panel no larger than our 120-130 watt panel which measures approximately 49 X 32 inches on a boat with strong well designed stern rails. The Kyocera 85 watt panel measuring approximately 40 X 26 inches is ideal for our smaller panel system. See other blog entries for an analysis of the performance of this panel.

Author

Thomas Trimmer has been cruising with his Ericson 38 sailboat on the Great Lakes for over 20 years. He has pioneered the use of solar energy for wilderness cruising. He is continually designing and building equipment to simplify and enhance the cruising experience.